Jan. 19, 2003
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THE GAME
Returning home after a 77-65 win at Ohio on Saturday, Miami (5-9; 3-2 Mid-American Conference) turns around to host Akron (7-6; 2-2 MAC) at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18. The match-up pits one of the nation's best scoring offenses against one of the country's top scoring defenses. Akron averages 84.9 points per game to rank ninth nationally in scoring offense, while Miami ranks 13th in scoring defense, allowing just 59.7 ppg.
The Zips are coming off a 74-60 loss at Bowling Green on Saturday. Derrick Tarver, who scores a league-best 23.9 ppg and ranks sixth nationally in scoring, paces Akron. In conference action, Tarver is pouring in an impressive 31.5 ppg. John Hollingsworth follows, averaging 19.8 ppg on the season and 20.8 ppg in league play, while Darryl Peterson notches 14.1 ppg. Hollingsworth also averages 2.7 steals per game, which ranks 21st nationally.
For Miami, junior guard Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) put together his best performance of the season against Ohio, knocking down a career-high 22 points and adding a career-best six steals. Mason averages 10.6 ppg for the RedHawks, which ranks second on the team behind junior guard Juby Johnson's (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) 14.1 ppg, and leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Danny Horace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills) is the other RedHawk who scores in double figures, averaging 10.1 ppg.
THE SERIES VERSUS THE ZIPS
The series with Akron dates back to the 1915 season with Miami owning a 15-10 lead in the series. When playing in Oxford, Miami posts a 10-6 advantage. Miami has won its last two meetings with Akron, both of which were in Millett Hall. Last season, the RedHawks inched out a 50-48 win, while producing a 69-56 win in the first round of the 2001 MAC Tournament in Oxford after dropping the previous two meetings in 2001. Akron's last win in Millett Hall was on Jan. 24, 2001, 56-46. Its last win against the RedHawks was also during the 2001 season in Akron, 74-63, on Feb. 14. (For complete series information, please refer to page 51 of the media guide.)
AGAIN MIAMI BOASTS ONE OF NATION'S TOP NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULES
Over the past two seasons, Miami's strength of schedule has been among the top 15 nationally at the conclusion of non-conference play, and this season is no exception. As has become the signature of Miami's non-conference slate, the RedHawks' strength at the end of their non-conference slate was among the nation's top five according to CollegeRPI.com and in the Sagarin Index (No. 4 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 5 in the Sagarin Index). Heading into its game against Cincinnati, Miami's strength of schedule was No. 1 in both indexes. Currently, the RedHawks' strength of schedule is ranked No. 2 by both CollegeRPI.com and the Sagarin Index (second to Georgia). Miami is 101st according to CollegeRPI.com and is ranked 109th by Sagarin.
PROGRAM MILESTONE LOOMS
Miami took another step toward becoming the first program in Mid-American Conference history to reach 500 league wins with a 77-65 win over Ohio. Miami needs just three more MAC wins to reach that mark after starting the MAC season 3-2. In their 56th year in the MAC, the RedHawks hold a 497-288 record in conference play and boast a league-best .633 winning percentage. The next closest school in the win column is Ohio University, which owns a 445-349 record over 57 years in the MAC. Miami also owns 20 regular-season MAC crowns, more than twice the number of titles than any other league school.
HOME SWEET HOME
Over its 34 seasons as the home of Miami basketball, Millett Hall has certainly been a welcome venue for the RedHawks, who are 322-106 (.752) on their home court. Four of Miami's five wins this season have been in the confines of Millett Hall. Last season, the RedHawks won just three games away from Millett Hall.
MASON STEALS SHOW
Junior guard Chet Mason grabbed a game-best and season-high six steals against Ohio, all of which came in the second half, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game list. The six steals is the second-highest single-game sum in Miami history. Three people have recorded seven steals.
MORE ON MASON
In the three games prior to last week, junior guard Chet Mason scored a collective 18 points. In Miami's two games last week, Mason led the RedHawks in scoring, tallying 17 and 22 points, respectively. Not only did Mason average 19.5 points per game last week, he hit 65.2 percent of his field goals (15-of-23) and 55.6 percent of his three-point attempts (5-of-9). Against Ohio, Mason was an impressive 80.0 percent from the field (8-of-10) and 75.0 percent from three-point range (3-of-4).
GIVE AND TAKE
Junior guard Chet Mason and sophomore forward Danny Horace combined for 10 of the RedHawks's season-high 12 steals against Ohio. Mason snagged a career-high six steals, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game chart, while Horace came up with four picks. The duo didn't just take, as they accounted for four of Miami's 12 assists. Mason handed out three assists and Horace had one.
TOP NUMBERS
Miami produced the most points in a half all season, amassing 47 in the second half against Ohio. The RedHawks also tallied a season-high 12 steals, while committing a season-low seven turnovers. Going 25-of-52 from the field (.481), the RedHawks put together their second-best outing from the field this season, second only to their .489 field-goal percentage against Central Michigan. Scoring 77 points, Miami also recorded its second-highest point total this season, falling just one shy of its 78 points against Dayton.
JOHNSON'S BAND-AID BRAND DEFENSE
As the Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid slogan goes, "I'm stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me," junior guard Juby Johnson's brand of defense stuck on Evansville's Clint Cuffle, Central Michigan's Mike Manciel and Ohio's Steve Esterkamp. Cuffle, who averaged 20.3 points per game and is one of the nation's top three-point shooters, hitting more than 60 percent of his three-point attempts prior to the Dec. 30 contest, was held to a mere four points as he went just 1-for-9 from the field versus Johnson. Manciel averaged 14.5 ppg and was held to nine by Johnson, while Esterkamp averaged 12.2 ppg and scored just five on Johnson.
MIAMI 77, OHIO 65
Chet Mason scored a career-high 22 points, going 8-for-10 from the field as Miami upended Ohio, 77-65, in Athens for the first time since 1998 and collected its first road win of the season. The RedHawks amassed a season-high 12 steals and capitalized on Ohio's 17 turnovers as they recorded 23 points off Bobcat miscues. Miami also kept its turnovers to a season-low seven, while scoring a season-high 47 second-half points.
Miami jumped out to a quick 13-7 lead in the first half, owning a six-point advantage at the 12:22 mark off a jumper by junior guard Gene Seals. Ohio, however, went on a 20-6 run to take its largest lead of the game-and eight-point advantage-at the 5:01 mark. Eventually the Bobcats took a 29-22 edge with 3:55 left, but Miami went on an eight-point surge to recapture its lead, 30-29, with 1:43 remaining in the half. Junior guard Juby Johnson scored seven of the RedHawks' final eight points of the half, hitting a pair of jumpers and getting fouled on a three-point attempt and connecting on all three free throws. Ohio's Brandon Hunter knocked down a jumper with 51 seconds left in the first half to hand the Bobcats the 31-30 halftime lead.
The two teams went back and forth through the early stages of the first half with neither team owning more than a two-point edge. Mason drilled two jumpers and a three pointer off three consecutive Ohio turnovers to give Miami a 48-41 lead with 13:45 remaining. Ohio was able to close the gap to two, 52-50, off a Steve Esterkamp three pointer at the 9:00 mark. Mason retaliated with back-to-back treys and punctuated an 8-0 Miami run with a dunk to hand the RedHawks a 60-50 lead. Miami led by as many as 14, 77-63, with 21 seconds left, but Hunter came back with a futility dunk with nine seconds left in the game to make the final RedHawk margin of victory, 77-65.
Mason also snagged a career-high and game-best six steals for the RedHawks. Johnson added 19 points, while Horace notched 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds and tallied four steals. Seals was the other RedHawk to score in double figures, chipping in 13 points.
A PUSH FOR 70
When the RedHawks hit 70 points, they win games. Three times this season Miami has reached the 70-point plateau, collecting wins in all three times. Miami topped Dayton 78-63, downed Central Michigan 71-62 and defeated Ohio 77-65.
JOHNSON-MIAMI'S MINUTE MAN AND MORE
In four of Miami's last five games, junior guard Juby Johnson logged a full 40 minutes. Johnson has been a driving force in the RedHawk lineup, hitting critical baskets to place Miami in contention to win games or overcome deficits and playing superior defense while typically drawing the toughest defensive assignments. Johnson is scoring at a 17.4 point-per-game clip to lead the RedHawks over the past five games, collecting a season-high 23 points against Kent State on Jan. 8. This season, Johnson has scored in double figures in ten games, including five of Miami's last six contests.
SCHENKE-MR. ASSIST
Until Miami's Jan. 8 game against Kent State, sophomore forward Tim Schenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had not committed more than one turnover in a game, giving up just six for the season while producing 19 assists. Against the Golden Flashes, Schenke committed four turnovers, but also dished out four assists. He owns a team-best 2.1 assist/turnover ratio (23 assists/11 turnovers) and has only once committed more turnovers than assists. Just twice has he had an even number of assists/turnovers (1/1 at Xavier; 4/4 vs. Kent State). Four times this season Schenke has amassed four or more assists, including a career-high five assists against Cincinnati. Over his past four contests (he sat out the Evansville and Ohio games due to a severely sprained ankle), Schenke notched 13 assists and committed seven turnovers.
HAUSFELD CRACKING THE STARTING LINEUP
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) earned the first start of his collegiate career against Butler on Dec. 14, but came off the bench in the Miami's next two games-Cincinnati and Evansville-to record 10 and eight points respectively. Hausfeld made his return to the starting lineup versus Central Michigan and has started the last four games.
MAC NUGGETS
Three RedHawks rank among Mid-American Conference statistical leaders. Danny Horace ranks 12th in free-throw percentage (.776) and 14th in blocked shots (0.71). Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) is 9th in defensive rebounds (4.43) and 11th in rebounding (5.9), while Juby Johnson's 1.64 made three-pointers rank 15th.
STINGY DEFENSE
One of the hallmarks of Charlie Coles coached Miami basketball teams is a strong emphasis on defense. For the season, Miami has been among the nation's top teams in scoring defense and currently ranks 13th nationally according to ESPN.com, giving up just 59.7 ppg.
BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIER
With a 77-65 win at Ohio on Jan. 18, Miami broke down the road barrier that has hindered them since Feb. 6, 2002. Road games have been a true obstacle for the RedHawks, who won just two road contests last season and won their first in six tries this season on Saturday. Miami had lost eight straight road games. The Red and White also ended a three-game drought in The Convo with its previous win there on Feb. 18, 1998, 85-53. There are three MAC schools (Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan) who are undefeated at home this season. Miami travels to two of those three schools.
THE 'SLUIS IS LOOSE!
Redshirt freshman Nate VanderSluis (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) made his much-anticipated debut in a RedHawk uniform on Dec. 14 when Miami hosted Butler. The 6-foot-11 center, who has battled foot injuries the past two seasons, played five minutes against the Bulldogs and scored four points and snagged two rebounds. He also saw limited action against Cincinnati on Dec. 28 and Kent State on Jan. 8.
REDHAWKS HOT AND COLD FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
Against Evansville, Miami drained its first five three-point attempts, and didn't miss a field goal until the 15:40 mark. Miami hit 41.2 percent of its first-half three pointers (7-of-17)-its best first-half effort of the season. Things cooled off for the RedHawks, who went 9-of-29 from three-point range for the game as they made just 2-of-12 attempts in the second half, a 16.7 percent effort. The RedHawks' 29 attempts were their most since the Red and White attempted 30 versus Buffalo in February of 2000 and ranked among the top eight for single-game attempts in Miami history.
SCHENKE NAMED MAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Miami University's basketball programs swept the Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards Dec. 10 as junior forward Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) and sophomore forward Tim Schenke were named the female and male scholar-athletes of the week.
Schenke, who owns a 3.37 GPA and majors in finance, helped Miami to back-to-back wins for the first time since early last February and got Miami to the .500 mark for the first time this season with wins over Dayton, 78-63, and a league-opening win over Western Michigan, 44-39. Schenke hit a critical three as time expired in the first half against Dayton to cut the Flyer lead to five and give the RedHawks momentum going into the second half. During a 17-0 second half run, Schenke hit another three to push Miami's lead to five. Miami's bench was a key component to the Dayton win, outscoring the Flyers 18-7. Schenke accounted for nine of those 18 points-a career-high sum.
For the second straight game, Schenke drilled a critical three against Western Michigan, Miami's first of the game, with 10:20 left to play to pull the RedHawks, who had trailed by five, to within one. All seven of his points came in the second half. He hit a key jump shot with 1:47 left to hand the RedHawks a three-point edge. Schenke then grabbed the final rebound of the game off a missed Bronco three to ensure the RedHawk win. Defensively, he helped hold Bronco forward Anthony Kann, who averaged 12.0 ppg heading into the contest, to just two points. This is the first scholar-athlete of the week honor for Schenke.
BENCH MARKS
A key to Miami's 78-63 win over Dayton was the production it received from its bench as the RedHawk bench outscored the Flyer bench 18-7. That margin was due in large part to sophomore Tim Schenke-who manufactured a career-high nine points, going 3-for-4 from three-point range-and junior forward Gene Seals (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw), who added seven points.
THREE-POINT TURN AROUND
Over its first four games, Miami went a paltry 20-of-80 from three-point range, connecting on no more than six in a single game. Against Dayton, it seemed as if that might be the case in the first half as the RedHawks hit just 2-of-11 three-point attempts, including one by sophomore forward Tim Schenke just as the first half ended. The second half, however, was a much different story for the RedHawks, who drilled 8-of-10 three-point attempts for a sizzling .800 second-half three-point shooting percentage. Miami made its first five three-point attempts of the second half and didn't miss until the 13:29 mark.
DANNY "WRIGHT" ON THE BLOCK
When it comes to blocked shots, Danny Horace likes facing the Wright State Raiders. Last season as a freshman, Horace swatted five Raider shots, which tied Miami's No. 5 single-game total. On Nov. 30, Horace blocked three Raider shots for a grand total of eight over the past two years.
REBOUNDS FOR REED
Against Wright State, senior forward Bryan Reed (Terre Haute, Ind./North) snagged a career-high 11 rebounds and become just the second RedHawk this season to produce double figures in rebounding. His 11 rebounds against the Raiders also was a game-high sum, four more than any other player. For the week, Reed averaged a team-best 8.0 boards per game.
HAUSFELD STEPS UP AGAINST MARYLAND
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld stepped to the floor in front of a national audience against No. 12/15 Maryland and showed that he is more than capable of playing with the nation's finest. Hausfeld was one of just two RedHawks and one of only four players to score in double figures, amassing 11 points off 4-of-8 field goals. Hausfeld drilled three treys as he went 3-of-4 (.750) from beyond the three-point arc. He also produced two rebounds and one steal.
DANNY DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In just the second game of the season, sophomore forward Danny Horace notched his first double-double for the RedHawks. Horace led all players with 17 points and 12 rebounds against No. 12/15 Maryland on Sunday. His 12 boards was twice the sum of any other player. He also had three steals and one assist.
JOHNSON TABBED MAC PRESEASON ALL-EAST DIVISION
Junior guard Juby Johnson was one of 10 players named to the Mid-American Conference All-Divisional Teams as voted by the MAC News Media Association. Johnson joined Ohio's Brandon Hunter, Kent State's Antonio Gates, Marshall's Ronald Blackshear and Akron's Andy Hipsher on the MAC Preseason All-East Division Team. Ball State's Theron Smith, Central Michigan's Chris Kaman, Eastern Michigan's Ricky Cottrill, Toledo's Nick Moore and Western Michigan's Robby Collum comprised the Preseason All-West Division Team.
A MIAMI WIN WOULD ...
* Move Miami to within two wins of reaching the 500 MAC win mark.
* Give Miami back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
* Be Miami's second straight home loss.
* Drop the RedHawks' MAC record to 3-3.
